How the Name of Your Upper Cervical Practice Can Impact Your Marketing

How the Name of Your Upper Cervical Practice Can Impact Your Marketing

Naming Your Upper Cervical Practice

When choosing the name of your upper cervical practice it is vital that you take into account the possible perceptions and branding implications of your practice name. Unfortunately the term chiropractic or chiropractor has some negative connotations to a large portion of the public. Chiropractic has a negative brand equity that is hurting the growth of chiropractic in general. Most people are not neutral when it comes to chiropractic – they already have an opinion – and it usually isn’t a good one. According to 2007 Gallup poll that evaluated ethics and honesty of various professions, chiropractors rank just a couple notches above lawyers and used car salesmen when it comes to the public’s perception of chiropractors integrity. And even when the public does have a favorable view of us – it’s exclusively focused on the neck and back pain.

This is why it is crucial that you position your practice uniquely in the minds of the public as upper cervical not chiropractic. Upper cervical does not have the negative brand equity that chiropractic does and so many people will give upper cervical the benefit of the doubt and not bring their preconceived notions to their decision-making. If you can position upper cervical as the unique healthcare approach that it is separate from chiropractic in the public’s mind you will have more success when it comes to your marketing, especially if you want to help people with other chronic health conditions besides neck and back pain. Just as when we discussed your practice logo and color scheme and social proof factors, your practice name is part of your subconscious communication online. All of your branding should represent your unique upper cervical approach and be congruent to who you and your practice are. Remember you only have about 50 milliseconds to make a first impression online.

Be aware that in some areas chiropractors must have the word chiropractic in their name. So check with your board before naming your practice. But if at all possible you want to stay away from the word chiropractic in your name.

3 Common Naming Mistakes

One of the mistakes that we see is doctors naming their practices such obscure names that prospective patients will never know what it means. So resist the urge to name your company after the mythical Greek god of health or the Latin phrase for “We’re number one!” If a name has a natural, intuitive sound and a special meaning, it can work. If it’s too complex and puzzling, it will remain a mystery to your potential patients.

Another mistake is doctors originally choosing the wrong name and then refusing to change it.Many clinic owners know they have a problem with their name and just hope it will somehow magically resolve itself. Although it is a pain to change your name to match your branding and marketing it certainly can pay off in the end. Just make sure that you change all of your directory listings so Google knows that your name has changed.

The last mistake that we commonly see is getting the “committee” involved in your decision. We live in a democratic society, and it seems like the right thing to do–to involve everyone (your friends, family, employees and clients) in an important decision. This approach, however, presents a few problems. The first and most obvious fact is that you’ll end up choosing only one name, so you risk alienating the very people you’re trying to involve. Second, you often end up with a consensus decision, which results in a very safe, very vanilla name. A better method is to involve only the key decision-makers–the fewer the better–and select only the people you feel have the company’s best interests at heart. The need for personal recognition can skew results, so you’ll be best served by those who can park their egos at the door. Also make sure you have some right-brain types in the mix. Get too many left brains on board, and your name will most likely end up too literal and descriptive. If you’re interested in having us help you with your naming and branding we do provide consulting at $150 per hour. Just email Drdavis@uppercervicalmarketing.com for more information.

Choosing Your Practice Name

Choose a name that appeals not only to you but also to the kind of patients you are trying to attract.

Choose a comforting or familiar name that conjures up pleasant memories so potential patients respond to your business on an emotional level.

Don’t pick a name that is long or confusing.

Be careful with having your last name in your practice name (i.e. Smith Spinal Care). If you ever want to sell your practice to someone else or have associates having your last name in your practice can be detrimental.

So if possible you want to stay away from the word chiropractic because the negative brand equity, your last name and you want to choose a name that is congruent with the types of patients that you’re looking to attract and that it short and to the point.

Good words to include in your name to reach your target market:

Precision

Specific

Balance

Life

Health

Spinal Care

Health Center

City Name (i.e. Dallas)

Area (i.e. Apple Valley)

Precise

Balanced

Advanced

Upper Cervical

Spine Clinic

Health Clinic

Spine Center

Technique Name (i.e. NUCCA, Atlas Orthogonal, Blair etc.)

Here are some good examples:

Precision Spine Clinic

Houston Specific

Complete Balance

Upper Cervical Toledo

Advanced Spinal Care

NUCCA Health Clinic

Once you determine the name of your practice or the new name of your practice you can then begin building a branding strategy around the name including your logo, color scheme, website, online marketing, business cards, brochures and office decor.